


Shell Shocked

by SyoshoHiataki



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003)
Genre: Body Dysphoria, F/M, Growing as a character, Nightwatcher (TMNT), Physical Therapy, Raph getting his shell ripped off, Seizures, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-04-28 07:40:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14444547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SyoshoHiataki/pseuds/SyoshoHiataki
Summary: In their last fight with the Shredder, Raphael got the worst thing to ever happen to the turtles. He got his shell ripped off. Now, he has to go an learn what it means to be a turtle without his shell. With the help of his family, he just might have it in him to walk tall again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I have been writing this thing off and on for the past, like, 4 years. Only now I have the actual guts to post this damn thing. I am still working on it so just, beware guys.

Everything hurt. That as a bright light pierced them. Eventually he managed to open them to see that he wasn't ontrap Shredder's death trap of spaceship. Instead, it looked like he was in some sort of hospital room. A slow hiss alerted him of a door to his right being opened. That was when the turtle realized that he was laying on his front and it was mostly his back that hurt. Raph turned his head to see an Utrom hover in with Donnie. 

"Oh! You are awake! We didn't expect you to wake for a few more days." stated the little alien.

Don, on the other hand, immediately rushed to his older brother and began a rundown on his vitals. "Raph! How are you feeling?"

The largest mutant turtle groaned and tried to rise. "I hurt Don....Why are we with the Utroms? Where's Shredder? Where are the others?"

"The others are safe Raphael. You were the one who needed the immediate medical attention. Please, what is the last thing you remember?" The Utrom had little holograms up and was checking over him.

That made Raph confused. "Immediate medical attention? Okay, the last thing I remember is fighting Shredder. Karai had sliced at Leo and I was helping Master Splinter try to take down the walking kitchen appliance when...."

Raph stopped, finally able to swat Don away and sit up, if barely. He felt, weird. Lighter somehow. A frown covered his face as he tried to figure out why he felt strange when he remembered.

"Shredder grabbed me. He did, something......I just remember him grabbing me and a shit ton of pain. Don, what happened?"

Don didn't look at him, instead he fiddled with the bed sheet. "We thought you were dead. The Utroms managed to get you stable but..."

Raph tried to turn his head to his brother only to freeze as pain shot up his back. He let out a cry, feeling every fiber of his being tense up. The turtle could barely register that his brother was shouting at the doctor about what was happening. His head rolled to the side as he fell back onto the bed. His eyes locked onto the reflective metal that made up the wall. It was then that Raphael realized, his shell was gone.

~~~~

Leo walked with Splinter and the Head of the Medical Department of the Utroms, the three of them heading to Raph's room. "He woke up?" asked the blue banded ninja.

"Indeed. It is remarkable for he should still be unconscious for a few more days." stated the doctor.

A chuckle escaped Splinter as they walked. "My son is full of surprises. I am just thankful that you managed to save him."

A small blush (or at least, Leo thought he was blushing) over came the doctor. "Yes well, we had never done that sort of procedure on a complex body before so we are waiting to see how it turns out. He took to it well and nothing has been rejected yet which is a very good sign..."

The three stopped when they heard yelling and smashing coming down the hall. Leo and Splinter immediately went tense as more Utroms began to rush to the room where alarms were blaring from. Leo frowned at the sight of Don being shoved out of it, the usually calm turtle arguing with one of the aliens. Splinter went to his other son and Leo peeked his head into the room to see something that made his blood run cold. Raph was getting hooked up to an oxygen breathing machine, seizing up to the point that the Utroms were beginning to strap him down to make sure he didn’t hurt himself further. IVs were getting strapped to the mutant, in hope that a sedative would stop the seizure from continuing. All manners of machines were blaring and going off. To Leo, it resembled that of a horror film. He didn’t get a better look for one of the doctors spotted him and shoved him out of the room before shutting the door. The leader glared at the door and turned to his father and brother to get an explanation of what exactly happened.

~~~~

After Raph's initial seizure and unanimous sedation, the head doctor talked to the family. "Now, I wish you all want to know the procedure we performed on your brother and son and we would like to go into full detail. Hopefully before he wakes again."

Don had heard the basic run through and was now wanting to know what exactly they did, as did the rest of the Hamato clan. The Utrom doctor produced a hologram of Raph's body and they all stared as he began to speak.

"Now, when we arrived he was barely alive. Little to no pulse. We were surprised that he even was stabilized. Now the exact surgery we did was we had to rebuild part of certain organs and full organs for him. It was the bone matter that made us worry for we never had to create such things before. Which is why we wish to keep him in observation for a while and he needs to have rehabilitation to see if his body rejects anything. So far, it does not look that way."

Mikey watched the hologram show the organs they had to partially/fully rebuild before moving onto the spine and ribcage. The youngest turtle took this all and wanted nothing more than to hunt down the insane alien to turn him into sushi. Seeing his older brother hang there, blood and gore all over his back and his shell get thrown across the room had made everyone just stop. Even Karai looked like she was going to be sick at that moment.

Don spoke up, catching his family’s attention. “When he woke, Raph had a seizure. Was that from shock or something else.”

The doctor grew uncomfortable. “From our scans, we believe the seizure was caused by his nerves in his new spine. We have never made anything so complex before. No doubt seizures will be common for Raphael during rehabilitation. His body must grow accustomed to his new spine but not having a shell as well.”

Mikey saw his father narrow his eyes. “Is there anything we can do to help minimize his seizures?”

The hologram flickered, showing a close up of the spine. “So far? Just keep strenuous activity to a minimum. He will have to stay with us until he is able to walk completely.”

It was Leo’s turn to frown. “How long will that take?”

“Depends. Weeks, maybe months. It will all depend on how Raphael will take it.” the doctor said, pulling up a chart next to the hologram.

The Hamato clan looked at each other and all knew that even though Raph went through something traumatic, he was a stubborn son of a bitch and would not let this slow him down. Hopefully.

~~~~

Raph was curled into a ball in the bed, buried under the sheet. He could hear the machines beeping and the IV dripping. He wanted nothing more than to die. His back kept spasming in pain as his muscles twitched. Raph looked down at his hand and made a fist, feeling nothing but pain travel up his arm to his shoulder. Amber eyes hardened as he decided that even though the Shredder tried to break him, he was not going to let it stop him. Tears fell from his eyes as the pain took over and he fell unconscious.

~~~~

Raph held onto the pole. He was about a month into the rehabilitation with the Utroms. His family had been sent home a couple of weeks ago and now the aliens were trying to help him get back to being able to walk. The first few days he had been sentenced to a wheelchair but Raph had enough about three days in. He still had his legs and by fucking god he was going to get it. He wanted nothing more than to be back on Earth, with this family and away from the Utroms. While he was grateful for the Utroms for everything they had done but the turtle was ready to get the hell out and back on Earth where shit made sense. Currently though he was in his rehabilitation room, at the parallel bars in hope to cut his time in space down in order for him to get back home. 

He gritted his teeth, placing one foot down in front of the other. Since he woke up that first day, Raph decided that he was going to live. Mostly to spite Shredder. The asshole was no doubt hoping that ripping his shell off would have killed him but here Raph was. Alive and working on getting well. The red banded ninja swallowed the bile that rose up in his throat as he attempted to walk once more. His Utrom physical “trainer” was floating nearby on its hovercraft. 

“Very good Raphael. Why don’t we take a break? You have already accomplished more this morning than you did last week!” the pink alien said, pulling up the screen that showed his progress. 

Granted last week even trying to stand made the teenager want to die but now he could stand without getting sick to his stomach. Now, the amber eyed male could get himself out of the chair and vertical. Walking on the other hand was proving to be bit of a challenge. Raph felt his legs shaking and set his jaw. “No, I can keep going.”

The Utrom frowned. “Raphael you cannot push past your limit. I understand the urge to return to Earth but not at the cost of your health.”

Raph opened his mouth to argue back but a seizure hit him and the world went black.

~~~~

It was now an official month since Raph had gotten his new spine and the turtle was 100% done with the Utroms shit. Tired of the gloop that they called food, tired of their rehabilitation shit and just tired of it all. He wanted to do was go home and eat real fucking food that wasn’t bland as all hell. The ninja couldn’t even add salt or pepper to the so called food. The worst bit about this whole thing was that Raph missed his family. He would never admit it to their faces that he would want nothing more than to go home. The main thing that was stopping him from going home was his so called doctor and rehab trainer. They wanted to make sure his seizures were not as severe as they had been so far but they had been slowly decreasing over time. Now he could go at least an hour without having a seizure. The longest he went was an hour and four minutes. Sadly the seizures would still render him unconscious but the doctors were seeing what was causing them and if there was a way to help him with that.

Raph stared out of the window that took up an entire wall in the rehab room, watching the stars slowly drift on by. He ignored the door opening, hearing the trainor come in to see if he was working on his rehab. He had been but was taking a quick break. Raph knew if he worked too hard, his back and spine would quickly shut him down and make him go back to bed rest. He was very adamant that he wanted to go home and get out of space. Only, as much as Raphael wanted to go home, he was afraid to. He was still one of his brothers but at the same time he wasn’t. Not anymore.

Being without his shell was still not really clicking in his mind. It felt weird being able to get out of bed from laying on his back. Raph had a panic attack when his personal trainer tired to make him do some exercises that reqiured him to bend certain ways. Said trainer then told him after the panic had faded that he could do those exercises when he felt ready. Either be now or when he got back to Earth.

Raph was aiming to do them when he got home. Sighing, the turtle turned back to the parallel bars to attempt to walk the whole way without falling over.


	2. Chapter 2

Mikey yawned as he entered the kitchen at the farm house. He now just had a faint limp since his broken legs had healed up nicely and was in the final stages of healing. At the table sat the rest of his family. Leo sat next to the still bald in some spots Splinter. Being fried had not agreed with the rat and every now and then, someone would drop a small joke about the cooked smell he still carried. Don sat next to Leo and April, working on a toaster that Leo had somehow broke. Kitchen appliances did not like the leader and he agreed with it. Casey stood at the stove, flipping pancakes. Mikey wilted a little as he saw that Raph wasn't with them once more. Ever since he arrived at the farm house, the now de-shelled turtle had holed himself in the attic, refusing to see anyone and most of the time, not eating by the untouched trays of food.

The youngest turtle sat down next to April, snagging a couple of pancakes. He buttered up some toast and sighed. He began to poke at his food, resting his cheek on his hand. He couldn't help but wonder what his second oldest brother was doing alone up in the attic. It was then he noticed the kitchen went quiet. Mikey looked up from his food and dropped his fork. Standing in the doorway was Raph. He was hunched over, wearing a set of Casey's old sweatpants and hoodie that was so old, the color was washed out from it. His mask was missing from his face and he looked tired.

He shifted from foot to foot and slinked into the kitchen. "Morning." he rumbled and that seemed to break everyone out of the trance they were in. Don nodded at him, ducking his head back to the toaster. Leo coughed out a greeting, looking at his brother with a strange look. Casey cursed as he realised he was burning food and April went to help him from setting the stove on fire. Splinter smiled at his son while Mikey sat there speechless. Raph sat down in between Mikey and Splinter, taking a bowl of grits and a side of bacon with a glass of apple juice. 

"Good morning my son. Did you rest well?" Splinter asked calmly.

Raph gave a shrug, "Enough."

The wise rat nodded, taking a bite of his food. Mikey still sat there with a bug eyed look. Raph took a spoonful of grits and said, "Close your mouth Mike. You'll eat a fly."

That snapped the aqua skinned male out of it. He huffed and savagely cut into his pancakes as if they offended him. That caused a light chuckle to come from Raph. Mikey glanced up from his food to see Raph slowly eating, wincing every once in awhile. A small look of concern came over Mikey's face but he erased it when Raph looked over at him to say, "Pass the pepper please."

"Yeah, sure." Mikey passed him the pepper and kept his eye on his older brother's movements. 

Raph's last finger on his right hand kept twitching when he grasped the pepper shaker. A determined look overcame the hot head's face as he brought his hand back. That was when Mikey realized Raph had small trouble with his movements. 'He had his spine ripped out. Of course his nerves are going to be acting up.' Mikey thought, eying his brother.

Raph fixed up his grits and went back to eating. He kept his movements slow and questioning, as if he didn't trust his body anymore. Once Raph was done eating, he stood. Everyone watched him as he turned to put his bowl in the sink. It was on step 4 to the sink that Raph had a spasm. He almost went down but caught himself on the sink edge. Everyone stood, waiting to see what he would do with a held breath. Raph released a soft growl and stood, albeit shaking. He forced his arm to place the bowl in the sink and move.

Mikey watched his strongest brother struggle to move back to the kitchen door. He went to go help him when Don caught his arm. He shook his head, honey colored eyes betraying emotion. Mikey bit his lip and looked back at Raph. He stood in the doorway, hand grasping the frame. The tallest ninja gave another growl, released the frame and moved. He exited the kitchen and Mikey could tell he was going up the stairs. Splinter and April rushed to the doorway to watch while the others stood in silence. 

It wasn't until Splinter's shoulders dropped that everyone seemed to animate once more. Casey slammed his fists on the counter, making things jump. "If I ever see that scumbag of a being again, I will personally make sure he doesn't breathe." he spat out, channeling some of his infamous temper. 

April went to him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "It will be alright Casey. He, WE just need time."

Casey captured one of her hands in his own. "Time can't fix this babe...Only Raph can."

Leo gritted his teeth, looking up at the ceiling. The black haired human was right. Only Raph could do this. As much as it killed him, Leo knew he had to do what he could do for his brother and that was encourage. Raph had to fight this fight alone.

~~~~

Upstairs, Raph panted. In the past few weeks he had been working on regaining control of his basic functions. He hated what he had become but he knew that this was only the beginning. After the first few days returning home, Raph wallowed in guilt, sorrow and despair, he got up to try to walk again. Only to meet with failure. Now, here he was, tired from walking up two small flights of stairs. Raph snarled and punched the wall behind him weakly. He was used to being the physically strongest out of them. Used to his muscles listening to him. Now, he had lost a good portion of his initial size and could barely walk or move without at least one small seizure to knock him back down. 

Raph took a breath and stood tall, only to silently cry out as pain lit up his back. He gritted his teeth and continued to stand there. He was used to pain but this was new. It was constant and goddamn it hurt. The Utroms told him what they did to make him survive and sometimes, he wanted to tell them it wasn't worth it. Some days, he wanted to end the pain but did not. He was granted a second chance and by fucking god he was going to take it. If that meant dealing with pain then he was going to live with it. 

He took a step, scowling on how his foot wanted to give out. He sighed and focused on walking across the attic without falling. It was halfway across the room that he was hit with another spasm. He stumbled, hitting the floor. Once it was over, he just laid there gasping for air. Raph whimpered as more pain danced up his fake spine. The Utroms told him that it would take a while to adjust to it and that there would be pain. 'Note to self, use every single one of them Utrom docs as hockey pucks next time I see them.' Raph thought as he tried to stand again. 

He sucked in a breath as he rolled onto his front. He expelled it, moving to rest on the balls of his feet. A small shake took over him but he gritted his teeth. Taking another breath, he slowly stood. After what seemed like an eternity, Raph stood. A feral grin overcame the ninja's face as he stood tall once more. He closed his eyes, just standing there for a while. He opened his eyes, focused on a beam across from him and began walking.

~~~~

Don stood with two of his brothers out on the front lawn, the three of them staring at Splinter. The rat had his eyes closed and was standing still. "Today my sons we regain training. You are mostly if not fully healed and we will be taking it slow as your bodies will not be used to this."

"Yes sensei." the three chorused. Mikey sighed, knowing that this time was going to be upon them soon, just not this soon. He had liked sleeping in and relaxing as his bones set and healed. Now, it was time to be a ninja again.

Splinter's nose twitched, "Begin your stretches my sons."

Don glanced down the line and saw his brothers moving to stretch. He quickly glanced back to the farm house, waiting to see if Raph was going to come out. He saw the only window in the attic was still covered. The olive tones turtle mentally sighed and went to stretch before Splinter noticed. Only he did notice. He did not let his son know, instead he looked at where his smartest son was looking and felt grief.

He could sometimes hear his missing son up in the attic. Some nights, there would be nothing. Other nights, Splinter could hear small crashing and cursing before quiet whimpering. Raph was rehabilitating himself and the prideful male didn't want anyone else to see him in these moments. The past couple of days though, the de-shelled turtle had made it a goal to join them all for breakfast. The only time he snapped at someone was when Mikey went to help him when he stumbled on his way to the fridge. 

Splinter shook his head, regaining his train of thought onto his other sons and how they needed to continue their training. The wise rat knew Raph would join them once he was ready.

~~~~

Raph sat in the living room with April, boxes all around them. He decided to help April do some cleaning around the house and that meant digging into the boxes that Casey had found in one of the lower floor bedrooms. April was currently trying to see what could be sold in her shop and what else could be donated. Raph was using this time to rehabilitate his limbs and move without another seizure. He opened a box and sneezed as a cloud of dust surrounded his head. He heard his female friend laugh and made a face at her. 

April giggled before digging into another box. Raph rolled his eyes and looked into his own box. Inside was a lot of yarn and some wooden needles. Confused, Raph pulled out a black yarn ball with some needles stuck in them. "Hey April, what's this?"

"Hmm?" she looked over and gained a surprised look, "Oh! I guess Casey's grandmother liked to knit."

"Knit?" Raph asked, looking at the blanket he pulled out. 

"Yeah. It's a dying art apparently. People can knit all kinds of things from blankets to sweaters. The blanket Casey has over his couch is knitted. I wonder if his grandmother made that one too." she said, scooching over to see what other treasures Raph had dug out.

He rummaged through the box, digging out more yarn balls, different sized needles and more knitted blankets. He managed to get to the bottom and find some yellowed papers. Taking them out gently, Raph laid them out on the floor. Both Raph and April gained looks of surprise when they saw they were instructions on how to knit. 

"Huh, I guess she left these in hopes that one of her relatives would take up the craft." April said, folding up a blanket. 

Raph nodded, focusing on the instructions. They were faded and old but he got the basics out of them. He glanced at a set of needles and a yarn ball. It took a lot of muscle control to knit, Raph noticed, if the pictures were anything to go by. April moved on to another box, placing all of the knitted blankets on the couch. Raph slowly repacked the box and took the instructions.

"April I'm going to move this box upstairs. Is that cool?"

She waved her hand and exclaimed, "Ahha! I found baby pictures!"

Raph slowly slid away from the now cackling woman, wondering why baby pictures were worth laughing over. He moved slowly, arms shaking from holding the box up. Not for the first time he silently cursed Shredder to die a painful death, Raph made his way to the attic to see if he could do something with his hands...

~~~~

A growl erupted from Raph's chest as he stared at the tangled mess he somehow got into. Whoever said knitting was easy needed to be shot. Raph swore as he glanced at the instructions again. It was difficult with 3 fingers. Add less than spectacular motor skills and you have a recipe for disaster. Raph looked at the mess in his hands and sighed. He just needed to calm down. Getting frustrated and mad wasn't going to help. Once he gotten the basics of knitting down he was going to start knitting and walking. That was his goal for if he could knit and walk then he would be one step closer to getting better. 

Now, if only he could get this yarn to cooperate then it would make him feel better. The ninja released another sigh and put the needles down. It was lunchtime and he needed food. He slowly stood from his chair and began moving towards the door when he got hit by another spasm. He caught the wall, waiting for the spasm to pass before moving once more. He made it out the door and down the first flight of stairs when another one hit. 

Raph ground his teeth, hanging onto the banister with weak arms as it rippled through him.  
Panting for breath, he stood there, limbs shaking. He remembered that the Utroms told him that it would take some time but they didn't know how long and he snarled. Raph inched his way down the hall and stopped at the top of the second flight of stairs. He rested against the wall, feeling tired but not as tried as the first day he made this journey. That made him feel somewhat better as he noticed that he wasn't getting as tired or hurt as much.

The ninja began making his way down the stairs when he felt the beginnings of another spasm start. He managed to sit down before it hit fully and he held onto the banister. Once it passed he swallowed the whimper of pain that wanted to escape and glanced to see how far down the stairs he had made it. He wanted to scream in rage as he saw he wasn't even halfway. Instead he closed his eyes and took a calm breath. It was the same as the knitting, getting frustrated wasn't going to help.

Raph stood on shaking legs and began moving once more even though he wanted nothing more than to remain still. He managed to make it to the bottom of the stairs and sighed in relief. Now just a few more steps to the kitchen and he was going to be alright. He walked into the kitchen and saw his family.

Don spotted him first and smiled, "Hey Raph. April made burgers for lunch. Want one?"

Raph nodded and went to go sit by his immediate younger brother. Only half way across the kitchen another one hit him. Hard. Raph cried out and hit the floor, twitching and spasming. He could faintly hear his family as they panicked. After that, all he could hear was the rush of his blood in his veins and a roar of pain as he blacked out.

~~~~

When he woke, Raph noticed he was in the living room on the couch. Splinter was in his designated chair across from him, meditating. Raph roamed his amber eyes over the room and saw that it was 6:28 pm, well, that was the old grandfather clock read. Raph tried raising his left hand only for it to be caught on something. He turned his head to see laying on the floor next to him, holding his hand was Donnie. The olive toned male was sleeping, hand gripping his brother's.  
Raph felt his skin darken as he realized his family saw one of his seizures. He wanted to keep those hidden for they reminded him that he was weak. He didn't move his hand, instead he gripped Don's hand before looking over at his father. 

"Sensei?"

The eldest mutant opened his eyes. "Hello Raphael, how are you feeling?"

"Sore and thirsty. How long was I out?"

Splinter sighed, "Most of the day. Raphael, why didn't you tell us about these seizures?"

Raph looked away. "Didn't want you to know."

Splinter didn't say anything. He didn't need to for he knew why. Raphael was prideful. Having his loved ones see him in his weak moments was embarrassing and hurt him more than anything. Hiding the seizures was him trying to prove to his family that he was fine. Splinter stood and began moving towards the kitchen. "Rest my son, I shall fetch you some water."

Raph layed there, watching his father leave before glancing at Don. The younger turtle was still out of it, which said a lot. Raph closed his eyes and wanted to roar in rage. He fisted the blanket that was thrown over him with his empty fist and silently let the tears fall.

~~~~

Mikey stood at the base of the stairs that led to the attic. He hadn't seen Raph since his fall in the kitchen and didn't know what to do. Leo and Casey said to leave the other male alone while Don and April kept checking up on him. Splinter had only spoken to his son once and after that, Raph holed himself back up in the attic. Mikey was worried for his older brother and wanted to make sure he was alright. Mikey steeled his spine and took the first step up the stairs. He inched his way up and peered over the ledge that made up the attic floor.

Standing alone in the center of the room was Raph. He had taken off the hoodie and was wearing a fresh pair of sweatpants. Mikey swallowed the gasp that wanted to come forth for he stared at his brother's back. 

Leo had seen it, refusing to speak of it and now Mikey knew why. He could see the faintly glowing vertebrae that made up Raph's fake spine and the new skin stretched across the wide back like a burn. Mikey's blue eyes traced where the scar began on Raph's shoulders, down his back and it disappeared under the sweatpants. Raph lifted his arms over his head and sighed.

Mikey silently watched his brother stretch and slowly move. It seemed that he was getting better but every seizure made him take two steps back. Raph kept his arms over his head as he raised his right foot. He twisted his body to the left to stretch out his leg. He gave a little laugh as he noticed nothing twitched. Not even his toes. 

He kept his joy locked tight in his chest for he knew that this was just the beginning. He brought his knee up to his chest, bringing his arms down so they were parallel to the floor. He stood there with a bated breath, waiting to see if the beginnings of a seizure would pop up. Nothing. Not even a twinge. Raph gulped and brought his leg down and did the same with his other leg. Still nothing. The ninja smiled and gained a determined look on his face. Bringing his hands over his head again, he bent forward. 

Mikey covered his mouth as he witnessed Raph bend forward. He stopped so his chest was parallel to the floor and felt his arms and back quake. This was normal and he set his jaw, determined to press his hands on the floor. When he had his shell, he could brush the floor with his fingertips. Mikey was the most flexible out of the turtles and could place the pads of his fingers on the floor. Raph felt sweat break out in his brow and he gulped down the vomit that wanted to come out. 

The hot head ignored all the feelings and focused. He slowly brought his hands down to hang next to him. Fear creeping down his neck, Raph shakily stretched his arms to make them perpendicular to the floor and stared. His muscles burned and his back screamed in pain but he ignored it. He would touch the floor today. Blood pounded in his veins and Raph could feel his heartbeat in his eyes as his fingers brushed the floor. He closed his eyes and bent until his hands touched the floor. He waited for a new moments before opening his eyes.

The palms of his hands were fully touching the old oak that made up the floor and were fully splayed. Raph stared and looked down at his toes in surprise. He wiggled them to make sure he wasn't dreaming and gave out a low laugh before it exploded from his chest. He ran his fingers over the floor, feeling like he could fly. He brought his fingers closer to his feet and touched his toes. Another laugh escaped him as he played with them, feeling pure joy radiate out from his chest.

He didn't notice Mikey watching with shock and tears in his eyes. Raph was bent fully in half and was shaking slightly but the baby turtle didn't know if that was from joy or something else. Raph slowly stood full once again and stumbled a little as the blood went back to normal within his body. He laughed again and made his way to the bed.

Mikey ducked down and silently went down the stairs. He decided to keep what he saw to himself. He raced to his room and closed the door. As he slid down the door, full sobs escaped him. His older brother was finally getting better.

~~~~

Leo grumbled as he made his way to the bathroom, remembering why he never drank with Casey. Leo was a lightweight and hated it for Raph could keep up and sometimes out drink their male friend. Leo, on the other hand, could only drink about 2 beers and be done for the night. Since Casey's best friend was currently out of action, he had taken to bothering the blue banded ninja. Leo didn't really mind it since it kept his mind off of his immediate younger brother and he got to expel some of his rage out on whatever thing Casey came up with. 

Currently, Casey had managed to find his grandfather's stash of moonshine and Leo had been curious on what it was. He learned quickly that 2 shots of the liquid made him severely drunk. Casey was still partying hard in the basement but Leo had to find the toilet. He paused outside the bathroom, staring at the shut door. He shook his head and opened the door to have a facefull of steam. Leo growled and shut the door. 

"Don't use all the hot water Mikey...I get the feeling I might be drunk and probably need to use it." He said, moving to the toilet. 

Either Mikey was ignoring him or something. Leo shrugged and went to use the toilet. He and his brothers were used to this and Leo sighed in relief as he relieved himself. Once done he looked at the steaming shower. A slow grin came over his face as he realized he could easily prank his baby brother. It wasn't often that Leo got to prank his brothers seeing how the last prank war got them all in trouble and part of the sewers were still, well, fucked up from the aftermath. 

Leo slowly reached out and flushed the toilet. All of a sudden, cold water came spewing out of the shower instead of hot and a curse came from behind the curtain. Leo laughed as he moved to the sink. As he washed his hands, he froze. The voice behind the curtain did not belong to Mikey for no girly scream came forth. Leo turned to see Raph's head poking from behind the dark curtain.

"Leo you ass! Next time check on who is in the tub! Also, no more alcohol for you! Jesus H Christ you smell!" Raph snarled out before disappearing. 

Leo simply stared and stood there, water still coming from the sink faucets. After a few moments, Raph's head popped back out. "Dude! I get that you are drunk but mind leaving now?! Come on privacy is something we like remember?! Shoo!!"

Leo scrambled to turn off the sink and hurried out of the steamed bathroom. Once he shut the door, the eldest turtle stood there with a dumbstruck look. He glanced back at the door, wondering if he was drunk enough to be imagining things. Leo turned and opened the door again only to see Raph stepping out of the tub. Raph scowled, "LEO! Fucking god do I have to lock the damn door?! Go away!!"

Leo stood there in the doorway, jaw loose as he stared at his brother. Raph growled and twirled the towel he was going to use and snapped it at Leo's thigh. A smug look came over the red banded ninja's face as his older brother yelped and fell back. Raph closed the door and locked it before moving to dry off. The new skin of his still felt weird. Like water pounding on it made him want to dance in the shower and certain fabrics made him want to claw off his own skin. 

Raph wiped off the mirror, flipping the switch on the fan to try to kill the steam in the small room. He dried off and glanced at himself in the mirror. It was weird seeing himself without a shell so he tended to avoid looking at mirrors. Only, this time, he couldn't look away. Raph glanced over his shoulder to look at his scar. The lighter tones skin looked normal but it was enough to sometimes give Raph a slight freak out. He reached up and touched his shoulder, running fingers down to where his shell used to be. Instead, he felt warm skin. A shiver overcame him, only it wasn't a pre-seizure warning. This shiver was one of relief in a way. Raph could feel where his finger was on his shoulder and sliding down to touch his side.   
Raph pulled his hand away, as if burned with fire when sparks of pleasure came forth. "Woah..." he murmured. That had never happened before. Sure he knew where his good spots were and what not but he hadn't even thought about it since the event almost 3 months ago. The amber eyes male glanced at the locked door but decided to test this further in the attic since no one ever bothered him up there.

He finished drying off, quickly dressed in his new wardrobe of sweatpants and hoodie before unlocking the door. He opened it, finding that Leo had run off. Probably to go find some mints for the leader hates smelling like alcohol. Raph slid out the door and made his way back to the attic. He made it up the stairs without any incident and went over to his bed. The emerald skinned mutant sat down and gently pressed his back against the wall. Raph looked at his hands before glancing to the entrance to the attic. He swallowed and decided to say fuck it. 

Raph slipped off the hoodie and moved to sit in the middle of the bed. Crossing his legs, the ninja took in a breath and raised his hand to touch his side. He shivered slightly as he felt muscles dance under his new flesh. He raised his right arm to allow more space for his left hand to feel around. His fingers brushed his ribcage and Raph just about launched himself off the bed.   
He leaned back, gasping. "Holy shit....they didn't tell me anything about that..." He moved his hand again, expecting the sensation of pleasure to rattle around in his chest. He stretched his hand around his ribs to brush his back. He frowned as he noticed he couldn't touch his spine and he guessed that was a good thing. If was anything like touching his ribs then good god he was fucked. 

Raph touched the skin near his spine and gave a quiet squeak. It kinda hurt but mostly it felt nice. He remembered seeing some women in commercials touch their lower back and Raph sat up so he was on his knees. He took a deep breath and reached behind him to feel his new vertebrae. Panting, he glanced over his shoulder to try to see where he was touching. He continued to run his hands around his lower back, sweeping across it. Biting his lips, Raph fingered up his spine and wanted to moan at the waves of pleasure and pain that burst forth. The pain was dulled by the pleasure and he wanted more.

He quickly shucked his sweatpants and sat there, running his hands over his new skin. he massaged his lower back, humming at the feeling. Damn no wonder girls like having their lower backs rubbed, it felt fucking great! He rubbed and massaged out the kinks in his muscles, making sure that the pain was gone. Raph closed his eyes, fingers tracing where his old skin met new. His eyes snapped open when he realized he could feel his ass. He looked behind him and could see his tail twitching, as well as where old skin was a stark contrast with the new one. 

Raph watched as his fingers ran over it and he snapped back at attention, eyes darting to the attic entrance. Still no one. He sighed and laid back, the fresh cotton sheets tickling his skin. He had been so wrapped up in the pain and anguish of losing his shell he didn't see that there was some good in losing it. A giggle escaped him as he rolled over, resting on his side. He closed his eyes and sighed, a small smile on his face as he realized everything was going to be alright.


	3. Chapter 3

Few Weeks later

The turtles had finally returned home after recovering from their final run in with the Shredder and they were quite happy to be home. Well, almost all of them. Raph was forbidden to leave the Lair and was not allowed to train until it was sure he was healed. Needless to say it did not end well for anyone. Raph spent much of his time in his room or in the living area. He would sometimes show up at dojo to watch his brothers train. On those days, Mikey would watch his hot headed brother look like he was missing something from his life then he would disappear in his room for hours if not a few days on end. Once, Don had walked in on Raph stretching and had to hole up in his lab. No one, not enough Raph could get him to leave.

Neither brother spoke of what happened, and quote frankly Mikey didn't want to know. If it was anything like his experience on seeing his brother's back then it must have been tough. Mikey stood up to the living room with a can of soda and a bag of chips, ready to have some quality time with his games when he saw the t.v was already in use. He groaned and hurried his pace to see who was watching what. He hopped over the couch and turned to see Raph laying down, a ball of yarn tucked under his arm and knitting needles in hand. Mikey stared and turned his head to see one of Raph's dvds was in. 

"Mikey! Move your fat ass!"

The youngest turtle quickly moved to sit in the free recliner, openly staring at his older brother knitting to Pacific Rim. Raph was ignoring him, instead working on his project and Gypsy Danger battling Kaiju on the screen. After a while and one of the best fight scenes to ever grace the big screen, Raph finally turned to his baby brother, "What is with the staring Mike?"

Mikey jumped slightly and blushed, "It's nothing. Just, are you knitting?"

Raph turned his amber eyes to the other male, "And if I am?"

"Oh well, that's cool...I guess. Didn't know you could knit." he said, looking at the swatch of grey yarn in between Raph's needles.

The older mutant continued to stare at the youngest, still knitting. Mikey's blush darkened and he looked away, staring at his toes. The two fell into a strange silence, the only sound coming from the speakers and the soft clicking of the knitting needles were heard. Mikey turned his eyes to the movie, watching the giant Jaegers fight monsters. He desperately wanted things to go back on how they were before the incident, but knew that it would be a long time before that happened.

~~~~

The Hamato family had been home for a few weeks now and today seemed like it was going to be another normal day. Don yawned into his hand, wishing desperately to have a cup (or 6) of coffee before training. He silently cursed himself on staying up late working on another project. The olive skinned male shook away the sleep that itched his eyes and walked into the dojo. He heard a noise, making him look into the gym area. Raph stood next to the weight cart wearing a t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts, looking over the different pairs. 

Don simply stared at his older brother, watching as he reached for his usual pair of weights. Raph paused, looking at the weights before moving down the line to a lighter set of weights. The genius released a breath he didn't know he held in before moving into the dojo area to wait for Splinter.

~~~~

Raph grunted and locked his jaw as he continued lifting the dumbbells, needing to get back into shape. He had lost almost half of his initial weight and mass so he decided it was far time to hit the gym so to speak. The ninja lifted the weight, arm shaking from the effort. Raph silently growled at how weak he had become and decided to do better. After a few more sets he placed the weights down and moved over to the treadmill Don had managed to fix up.  
The red banded male stared at it before deciding to go slow. He turned it on and set it to walk. He began walking on the moving machine, slightly tense. After a while, he glanced down at the glowing numbers to see how many miles he walked only to frown at the 3.6 miles that glared back at him in red. He knew better than to push himself at this point for he didn't know if he would get hit with a seizure but they had started to become less frequent. Instead of 5-6 a day, he would get between 3-4 and with larger amounts of time between them. 

Raph continued to walk until he became short of breath and then continued. He could feel his chest laboring and sweat soaking the back of his shirt which felt beyond strange. Soon, he decided to stop walking and go grab a bottle of water. Before the mutant got off the machine he looked at the miles and felt his eyes go wide. The glowing red numbers said, 35.8 miles. Raph grabbed the rails on the machine and lowered his face to stare at them. It didn't feel like he walked almost 40 miles. The amber eyed male glanced at the clock, surprising himself. The ninja had been walking for nearly 4 hours. 

Raph got off the treadmill, moving his aching legs in the direction of the kitchen with a dumbfounded look. His brothers were done with training and had been done for nearly 2 hours now but he didn't even notice. The big guy went into the kitchen, eyes landing on the table to see Mikey and April sitting there with a catalog book between them. Raph decided it would be best if he ignored their giggling and plotting and got himself a cold bottle of water from the fridge. He opened the fridge and bent over to get one of the bottles when his stomach growled. Raph glanced down at his stomach before mentally shrugging. Since he was in the fridge might as well make himself some food. As he rooted around the fridge, April and Mikey took notice. Mikey rolled his eyes at his big brother and went back to the antique catalog. He found another cool item, glancing up to see if April saw it too but became confused. The red haired woman wasn't looking at the book. Instead, her eyes were firmly set on the direction of Raph. Mikey turned his head to see what she was staring at only to blush. Raph was bent over and the fabric of the basketball shorts was stretched over his butt. 

Even Mikey could say his older brother had a very nice behind but it weirded him out to see his friend check out Raphael. The youngest out of the turtles swatted at her, giving her a small glare. April blushed and coughed, looking back down at the catalog. Raph stood, items to make a sandwich in arms. He tilted his head in confusion when he saw Mikey glaring at the blushing April. He rolled his amber eyes and moved to the counter. Best leave things alone he guessed before making himself his sandwich.

~~~~

Raph stared at the box of clothes Casey had dropped off, saying that his friend needed to update his wardrobe. True, the mutant was getting tired of sweats and hoodies but he had yet to find anything that would fit him. So in a grand way, Casey decided to go thrift shopping and get stuff to see what would fit the other male.

April was sitting on the couch with Mikey, smiling as Casey stood proud with hands on his hips. 

“Come on Raph. You can't keep wearing sweats for the rest of your life. Just give some of these a try. If you don't like or can't wear something I can always donate it.” said the older male.

Raph glanced to the audience on the couch who had begun to chant “Montage!”

With a roll of his eyes, the emerald turtle grunted out, “Fine. Just give me a few minutes.”

Ignoring the cheering, Raph took the box and went to the bathroom to begun trying on clothes. He locked the door and placed the box on the bathroom counted. He paused, staring at the flaps of the box and took in a deep breath. He was a badass ninja who had been to space, defeated the most notorious evil alien of all times and had survived getting his spine ripped out. Raph swallowed and opened the box. He pulled out a red tank top and a pair of jeans. Okay he could work with this. He easily pulled the shirt on, tugging it so it settled better over his shoulders.

The jeans on the other hand, he managed to get them up to about mid-thigh before they have him trouble. Growling, the turtle began to try to pull them on. Raph heaved and eventually figured out that he had to basically jump and pull them up at the same time. Curses flew from the terrapin’s mouth as he tried to get the jeans up. He crashed against the counter, gasping out a curse as his side hit it. 

Amber eyes hardened at the sight of them in the mirror. He managed to get them over his thighs but now he had to get them over his ass. Raph yelled out, “Casey did you have to get the jeans this fucking small?!”

He heard muffled laughter and the reply had Raph gritting his teeth.

““Ain't you ever heard of skinny jeans Raphie-boy?”

Raph flipped off the door as he one handed pulled the pants over his ass. It took a few tries to actually get the button done on the fly and the zipper was a bitch but he got it. Tightening his mask, the deshelled turtle exited the bathroom to show off his newest outfit.

He stood there in the entryway, feeling every bit uncomfortable as three sets of eyes ran over him. Casey have a laugh, slapping his knee in joy. Mikey tilted his head and went “huh". April had a faint blush on her face as her eyes travelled up his form.

“Damn Raph you look good in jeans!” cheered his best friend, walking toward him. 

Raph tugged at a belt loop on his jeans, trying to make them not feel as tight. “Says you. I had to fight to get these thrice damned things on. What size are these??”

Casey rolled his eyes, going in a circle around the ninja. “You'll thank me later man. You look good in this. How does the shirt feel?”

Raph grumbled, “Fine. I like it better than the pants to be honest.”

April let out a laugh. “Trust me, everyone doesn't like pants. Pantless is really nice.”

The woman came up and made her friend turn around so she could see the ensemble from behind. Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline at the sight of his ass in the painted on jeans. Raph really did have a great ass and April moved on before she got caught ogling Raph’s butt, again. She plucked at his shirt, humming. 

“Not bad but I wonder what other colors you can try.”

Mikey sputtered. “Anything but our colors please. Raph in orange is just a no bueno.”

Casey shrugged. “Fair enough. I did get different shades of red and some blacks. I think there might be a grey in there somewhere.”

Raph shrugged off the humans and made his way back to the bathroom.

“Oh and leave the jeans on buddy!” Casey called.

Raph just flipped him off before shutting the door.

~~~~

Raph sighed as he closed the door to his room. He had just about enough of being a Barbie doll for the humans and had escaped when he got the chance. Jeans felt weird on his skin and he barely managed to not just rip shirts off of his back. His skin was highly sensitive to certain fabric detergent and Raph refused to wear the clothes until they got washed in the stuff he used. 

Amber eyes drifted over to the new laundry basket that he had been gifted by April. Now that he was the only one out of his brothers who wore clothes on the regular, he had been given laundry detail. Groaning at the sight of the mountain that had formed, Raph reached behind him and tugged the shirt off. Throwing it in the laundry baskets direction, Raph undid his pants. He had just managed that and got them right at his tail when the door to his room opened.

“Hey Raph you forgot-” April froze in the door, box of clothes under her arm.

Raph looked over his shoulder with wide eyes at his friend. Her face turned red, matching in shade with his mask very quickly. She let out a squeak, dropped the box and slammed the door. Raph blinked before wondering what her problem was.

On the other side of the door, April pressed her back to the wall next to her and hid her face in her hands, the blush going down her face and neck. She knew that the turtle’s were attractive in different ways but seeing how built Raph really was under the shell threw her for a loop. Good Lord his ass was sexy enough but seeing him with his back to her and low riding jeans?? April fanned her face. She hoped that Raph would not ask her what just happened for she did not want to explain to both him and her boyfriend that she was physically attracted to the red banded turtle.

Shaking her head, the redhead hurried to the kitchen to help Mikey make dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

Angel scowled at her textbook. The teen had asked Donnie to tutor her in chemistry since she had no idea what it was saying. Donnie himself was on the other side if the kitchen table and was checking over her past tests to see where she was losing it. The purple haired girl let out a growl and threw her pencil at the book in rage.

“Fuck this!” she snarled, much to the amusement of her tutor.

“I don't know about that girl. You don't know where that thing has been.” said a deep voice.

Angel snorted. “Oh please. Unlike you Raph I have standards.”

That got both turtles to laugh as Raph fully entered the kitchen. Angel paused at the sight of her friend. This was the first time she had seen him since the Shredder Incident and to say seeing him without a shell is a thing she was going to have to get used to. He was wearing a black t-shirt that was very form fitting. The dark blue jeans that he had on made her heart stop in a good way. 

Angel felt a blush try to creep up her neck but she beat it down. She was here to get better at chemistry, not check out her very hot friend. Like Damn he was call the fireman hot. Shaking her head, Angel shifted her attention to his brother and her homework. Don had pulled her book to him so he could review what she had done when an emerald green arm came from behind the human girl to tug the book back away from the purple banded turtle.

“What are you working on now?” asked Raph as he leaned over Angel to read over her shoulder.

Said girl froze in place as the unusually warm mutant pressed against her. He had done this before, Hell all of the turtles had at some point from movies on the couch to seeing what shenanigans her friends were texting her about. This felt different for some reason for her. Raph framed her with his arms, head over her shoulder. Donnie, blessed oblivious genius that he was, spoke to his brother without noticing the internal crisis Angel was having.

“Angel needed help in chemistry. So I'm tutoring her.”

Raph made a confirming noise, one that rumbled through his chest and into Angel’s back. The teen shifted in her chair, hoping to any deity listening that neither turtle could scent her. That had been an embarrassing discovery that the turtles could smell different pheromones in the air. Made explaining her period easier but still embarrassing. Now she hoped none of them could tell that Raphael was arousing her. Just by doing what he normally did.

Angel looked out of the corner of her eye to see her friend’s profile. He had such a strong jaw and in all honesty, was quite handsome. Angel had to admit, they all were but the red banded ninja took to the cake as most attractive to her. Don was a close second though.

Angel decided to play it off and gently shoved at Raph’s face. “Yeah I'm here for tutoring. Trust me I would much rather be doing anything else than chemistry.”

Raph looked at her and chuckled, “Anything huh?”

Angel narrowed her eyes. If he wanted to try and flirt then he was in for a rude awakening. Granted they play flirted a lot but now? Oh boy he was going to get it.

Leaning back, the purple haired girl smiled and pressed her back to his chest. “Oh defiantly. I would rather have you teach me how to ride.”

Donnie, bless him, scrunched his beak at her textbook as he was so focused on what babble her textbook was trying to pass off as chemistry. Raph, on the other hand, froze. He turned his head to look at her. “Do what?”

Here Angel shrugged. “You know, ride your motorcycle? You keep saying you'll teach me.”

Now the ninja pulled back to properly look at his friend. “I did huh?”

The girl flicked her hair over her shoulder and leaned forward on the table just enough for his eyes to flicker down. Bingo. “Well yeah. But you kept saying that the time isn't right or whatever. When will the time be right? When I'm an old hag?”

Amber eyes drifted back to her face. “I guess you're right.”

Smiling, Angel decided to play a power move that usually worked in her favor. “Good cause I am hoping for you to let me have a good, long ride.”

She leaned up to speak directly in his face. “Hopefully all night if you can.”

Raph’s eyes widened and he jolted back as if he got burned. His face flushed to a darker shade of green and he barely managed to get out a “Doing laundry Don. Bring your stuff to the laundry room,” before hightailing out of the kitchen.

Don looked up to see Angel laughing like a hyena as his hot head brother booked it for the laundry room. Donnie cocked an eye ridge. “What did I miss?”

~~~~

Raph was in the middle of doing laundry when his phone went off. He reached into his back pocket and pulled it out. He frowned when he saw that it was Casey calling him. He answered, putting the phone on speaker so he could continue folding his jeans. 

“Casey? Hey man what’s up?” he said, grabbing another pair of jeans out of the basket.

“Hey buddy of mine. I have a question to ask and am really hoping you’ll say yes.”

That made the mutant pause. He glanced at his phone before turning it off speaker to bring it to his ear. God only knows that Leo would do if he hears this conversation.

Raph sighed, letting his annoyance be heard through the phone. “Did you and April have another fight? Cause if you need to crash here again I swear I ain’t covering for you. Donnie almost fucking brained you last time you crashed here. That was even before Splinter knocked your ass out in training.”

That got a laugh out of the other hothead. “Haha no. Nothing like that. See Angel talking to April and I about a thing. The girl wants to experience what getting drunk is like but without the usual consequences of her being underage at a party.”

Raph rose his eye ridges in response, putting his phone in the cradle of his shoulder so he could go back to folding his laundry. “And what are the usual consequences? Aside from the cops showing up and the like.”

Casey grumbled, “In this day and age knowing our luck our girl would get drunk and get raped or murdered. It’s New York Raph. You know how the city is. Someone would know a low level Purple Dragon and invite them along. Next thing you know Angel is on the news for getting killed.”

Raph couldn’t help but agree. Knowing them and their turtle luck, shit would go sideways in a heartbeat just for fate to fuck with them. “Okay that makes sense but where do I fit in all of this?”

Casey gave a rather evil chuckle then. “I just figured it has been a while since you had a nice drink. I also don’t want to be the only one to babysit a drunk Angel for an entire night.”

“What about April? Can’t she help?” asked the green skinned male as he kept on with his laundry.

Raph had just pulled out a shirt from the pile as his best friend groaned. “April is going to be at the Lair that night with Splinter. Apparently one of their shows or whatever is having a special and quite frankly I don’t give a fuck. It would also give you a good excuse to get out of the Lair for a few hours. You haven’t been topside in months man.”

Pausing in putting the shirt in the clean stack, Raph frowned. True he had been all but grounded to the Lair since returning from the farmhouse due to his family being extra paranoid over his back. As of now the shell-less turtle had about maybe three seizures a week and that was only if he overexerted himself in his rehab. Splinter was even thinking about working Raph through basic katas soon as to see how far the hothead could go before needing to stop.

“I don’t know Case. There is a reason why I haven’t been up top and you know what it is.”

“Come on man! It is not like we are going to bust some skulls. We are going to chill at my apartment. Drink some beer. Laugh at Angel getting drunk off what maybe a beer and a half. Possibly watch a movie or some shit. The worst thing that will happen is one of us passes out on the floor or Angel puking all over my bathroom.”

Now that was a plan that Raph could get behind. He did miss drinking with his friend and seeing his other friend drunk would be hilarious to watch. “Let me talk to Sensei and see what I can do. No promises though.”

He had to pull the phone away from his ear for Casey let out a cheer that would shatter glass. Chuckling, Raph finished folding his laundry and grabbed the basket. No harm in asking his dad for a night out.


	5. Chapter 5

Angel wanted nothing more than to scream. She was currently in her room, freaking out over what to wear on Saturday. Her best friend was on her bed, rolling her eyes at her. “Angel what is there to freak out about. You are going over to Jones’s apartment, not prom.”

Angel pulled at her purple hair, staring at her closet. “You don’t get it Soph. Raphael is going to be there.”

The other girl frowned. “Who?”

Brown eyes widened as she realized her slip but figured she could lie a little bit. “He is a friend. Casey met him through Anger Management. Raph is….well. Fuck girl he is hot. Like burning.”

That got Sophie to raise her eyebrows. “Oh shit girl. Gimme a scale here.”

Angel gave a slow smile. “Derek Hale, season 3b.”

“Oh HELL girl!” the blonde shrieked, launching herself off the bed. “This changes everything!”

“Right?!” the slightly older girl shrieked back, turning to her clothes.

Sophie narrowed her green eyes and began pulling out shirts. “Okay, give me an idea on how this Ralph guy is like.”

Angel rolled her eyes. “One, his name is Ra-PH. And two, he is Casey’s best friend and vice versa. Raph is into martial arts and owns a motorcycle. He has three brothers and lives with his dad still. He is a little bit older than me.”

The shorter girl paused in pulling out a crop top sweater. “How much older? Cause I know Jones is like, a decade older.”

Angel moved to her bed, dropping on top of her bed. “Raph is like, 18 or 19. Not that much older thankfully.”

Sophie threw the sweater back before rummaging back in the closet again. “Okay so how did you meet and where is he from?”

“Born and raised in New York City. We met through Casey. Raph and his brothers actually helped Casey on not letting me get involved with the Purple Dragons.”

Green eyes went wide. “Oh damn...So what made you realize you like him?”

Angel let out a groan. “That’s the weird bit Sophie. I actually didn’t realize how attractive he was until a couple of weeks ago. And it was in his kitchen!”

Her friend laughed. “Seriously? You had that epiphany in his house?”

Angel buried her head in her arms, “While his brother was trying to help me with chem work. Bless Donnie for being an oblivious motherfucker but I am seriously freaking out here. I have no earthly idea on why Casey invited Raph to this thing on Friday.”

“Maybe because this guy is his best friend? Or do you think Jones knows?”

The purple haired teen rolled over and shoved her face into her pillows. “Or maybe to piss off Raph’s older brother. I don’t know. I have a theory.”

Sophie pulled out a grey crop top that had the words rock ‘n’ roller in white letters. “Here, wear this on friday with your black leggings. What’s your theory?”

Angel grunted as the shirt was thrown at her. She let it land on her back and she turned her head to speak to her best friend. “Raph got into a bad accident a few months ago. He has been basically grounded since he got home from rehab and so Casey misses his best friend. Mr. Hamato is protective of his sons so letting Raph out and about while he is still technically recovering is something he isn’t keen on.”

Sophie sat down next to the other girl. “I guess that makes sense. What type of accident?”

Angel felt her body tense. She couldn’t exactly say, ‘oh yeah he got his shell ripped off’ so instead she replied, “A car accident. He got hit on his bike and got his spine broken. Thankfully he lived and didn’t get paralyzed but the healing process has been difficult and long for everyone.”

Sophie flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Shit babe. Is he alright though? Now I mean?”

Brown eyes met hers. “He can walk and everything. His doctors fought hard for him. He made a good recovery and has been in rehab since the accident. Raph is a stubborn bastard though. He won’t let something like that stop him from being him. The doctors have told him no strenuous activity until they clear him. Poor bastard has been going nuts for he wants nothing more than to go back to the dojo and get back into shape. Granted he is still in good shape but damn he has lost a lot of weight due to him not exercising like he used to.”

A very perverted grin came over the blonde girl. “Strenuous activity huh? So no sex then?”

The blush that took over Angel’s face made her friend laugh. “Sophie!!!”

The two girls laughed and went back to creating the perfect outfit for Angel to wear on Saturday.

~~~~

Raph slipped into the apartment, looking around the place. He hadn’t been there in nearly a year due to his injury but it felt nice to get out of the Lair. He managed to convince Splinter to let him out only due to the turtle being at Casey’s place. No they weren’t going to go on patrol. No they weren’t leaving the apartment. Angel was going to come over and get drunk for the first time. Yes they would be responsible. By the time Raph was done convincing his father to let him go, the deal had been made. Raph would be home tomorrow and would call if he had a seizure or should someone need help. The red banded turtle was also supposed to text Splinter when he got there and when he was on his way home.

He pulled out his phone as he made his way to the kitchen, not paying attention to much as he sent a text to his dad. “Hey you made it!” said a voice.

Raph looked up to see Casey standing there holding a case of beer in one hand and a bottle of Fireball in the other. Raising an eye ridge, the mutant had to say, “The fuck man?”

The older human laughed, a slightly maniacal smile shone bright from his face. “It has been a while since I had a good excuse to get completely shitfaced.”

The turtle rolled his eyes, putting his phone in his pocket. “Didn’t you and Leo get completely trashed at the farmhouse?”

His answer was a shrug. “I mean yeah but that was months ago.Ever since we got back Leo has become the worst stick in the mud. Really thought we were bonding up there.”

Raph took the case of beer, checking it over. “Trust me, Leo is being a pain at home too. Huh, dark beer huh?”

Casey went to his fridge and placed the cinnamon whiskey in the freezer next to a bottle of what looked like vodka and rum. “Well of course. Light beer is a waste of human resources Raphie-boy. I do have other things for her to try as well.”

The shorter male came over to take a peek. His eye ridges rose up at the sight of various different alcohol. “Jesus Case did you buy out the entire store?”

“Nah, just wanted to give her a variety. If she doesn’t drink any of this than more for me!” cheered Casey as he rummaged through the fridge. “I spent a good hour at the store trying to figure out what exactly I could buy that would work for tonight. I have tequila, beer, rum, vodka, Fireball and a few others.”

Raph’s eyes got wider with each bottle that got named and showed. “Are you trying to give her liver failure?”

“Pfft, nah. I am going to cut her off after 11:00. No matter if she is drunk or not.” said the human, moving things around.

That made the mutant look at the clock in the kitchen and once again his eye ridges went up. “It’s only 7:13 Case. That means she will have like, three hours to drink if she shows up soon.”

Casey pointed a finger to his friend, pulling out of the fridge to go hunt down his phone. “Exactly! I am planning on getting her white girl wasted in those three hours then shipping her ass off to bed. After that is when the real fun begins.”

Raph shook his head, throwing his arms up in the air. “Well good luck with that. I am going to go cop a squat on the couch. You figure out what we are going to eat later.”

Ignoring the groan that came from the “responsible” adult, the ninja went into the living room to commander the television to see if he couldn’t find a movie or something to watch as they waited for their VIP to show up. Raph just sat down and turned on the t.v. when the front door knocked. Casey came barrelling out of the kitchen. “I got it! Stay put!”

Rolling his eyes, the red banded turtle did, leaning back against the sofa and spreading his arms across the back of it. He heard Casey give a cheer and a female laugh was its reply. A smile came over the ninja, knowing their friend had shown. The two humans came out of the entryway and Angel stopped short at the sight of Raph on the couch. Her brown eyes widened, roaming over his form. Dark jeans encased his thighs and settled well on his hips. A dark red shirt that had holes fashionably cut into the left collar and the bottom right side of the shirt. On top of that was a very well made grey and black zip up hoodie that he left open. The outfit complemented his skin tone and showed off that he was built but not overly so. It was enough for the teenager to want to scream to the sky at how unfair it was that the fellow male was undeniably sexy. Angel decided to play it off in her normal way. “Damn Raph you clean up nice.”

Amber eyes rolled as he got off the couch. “Don’t look to bad yourself Ang.”

He took in her crop top that looked soft to the touch and was cut enough that her belly button was on display. Her black ripped leggings covered her legs and showed off that while she was short, Angel had legs for days. She flipped her purple hair over her shoulder, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why thank you. So. What exactly is the plan?”

Casey slung an arm over her shoulder, directing her to the kitchen. “Oh ho do I have plan. Tell me, have you ever had something called an Irish Trashcan?”

~~~~

Raph laughed, gripping his belly at the sight of his very drunk friend as she attempted to argue with Casey about the importance of stuffed crust pizza. It was only 9:45 and Angel was fucking gone. She had an Irish Trashcan, four shots of Fireball, two beers and a Mystic Marvel. True Casey was going to be cutting her off in an hour but the girl was partying hard. Raph himself had one Irish Trashcan and a few beers. He wanted someone to be at least somewhat coherent to make sure that if Angel got sick, she would be taken care of. Casey, on the other hand, had several shots of Fireball, two Irish Trashcans and found a recipe for something called an Irish Wake online. Raph already knew that if the group ever went on a vacation to Florida, Casey was going to make then go to a place called Pensacola to get a “true Irish Wake”. Now though, the humans wanted food and Casey volunteered to get them pizza. He was in the middle of ordering it when Angel demanded stuffed crust. Which is what lead them to now. Raph leaned back on the couch, putting his booted feet on the coffee table and taking a swig of his beer. 

“Case, man just give up. Even drunk you can’t win in an argument with a girl.” stated the turtle.

The black haired man waved off his friend, “Shuuushhh. You lost permission to order food. By denying shots!”

Angel let out a laugh from her place on the floor. “Yeah! That’s alcohol abuse Raphie!!”

Raph leaned his head to the side to get a better view of his very drunk female friend. “Says the one who had to take her shot of Fireball with an oven mitt on.”

Said oven mitt got waved in the air. “Safety first!! It’s Fireball so that means fire which is hot Raph!”

The turtle had to shake his head at her antics. In her drunk little mind it made sense but to his barely drunk self it was just funny. Casey finished the order and let out a “Come on!”

Both teens rolled their heads to the man, who grumbled. “Since it is after nine they don’t deliver so I am going to have to go pick it up.”

He got up and began hunting down his wallet and keys. “Raph you are in charge until I get back.” He paused and whipped to the turtle. “Do NOT tell Splinter that I left. That rat would have my ass.”

Raph held his hands up. “I won’t tell a soul Jones.”

Angel rolled onto her stomach to attempt to stand up. “I got you covered too Casey. I don’t think I will remember this bit anyway.”

She tried to stand but fell on her ass, which prompted her to laugh. Both males had to get up to help her off the floor. Raph gently pushed her to the couch, turning to his best friend with a look. “Just hurry back man. I am going to get her some water.”

The teen groaned from her spot on the couch. “Nooooo. Water bad. Booze good Raphie! I wanna stay drunk!”

Amber eyes rolled. “No you are getting a glass of water and when Casey gets back you are eating some pizza. How you feel after that we will see if you are still able to continue drinking. As of now though, I am cutting you off.”

She pouted, watching him as he went into the kitchen to get her a glass of water. Casey nodded. “He is right. I will be right back okay? Stay put.”

Angel stuck her tongue out at him, “I have free will damn you!”

Casey grinned at her. “Bet you won’t stay put.”

“BET!” she tossed a pillow at him.

He easily dodged it and left the apartment with a laugh. Raph came back to hand her the water. He sat down on the couch next to and quickly swiped his beer from the coffee table. Angel pouted but drank the cool water anyways. She was a thirsty bitch and while the water was helping her now, what she wanted was a tall drink from a certain ninja. Raph took another swig of beer, watching her as she all but chugged the water down.

“Take it easy girl. You don’t want to get sick.” he said, leaning back against the couch cushions.

Angel flipped him off. “I’m fine. I swear it.”

Raph snorted into his drink. “Yeah and I am the Pope.”

She let out a gasp. “But you’re not Catholic!”

Both teens laughed at her. Well more Raph did. Angel was just drunk and was in a giggling phase. They both leaned back as the giggles died down. Raph leaned his head back, unintentionally showing off the tendons of his neck. Angel’s eyes tracked down his throat, licking her lips. Raph cracked his neck, rolling it and fixing his bandana tails so they were draped over his left shoulder. He threw his left arm over the back of the couch, cradling the neck of the bottle in his right hand. Angel felt her mouth go dry at him being himself. Only this time in her drunken state that she decided not to become embarrassed by being aroused by him. This time, she wanted him to know. The girl shifted, tucking her left leg under her while her right leg went over the couch to touch the floor. Pressing her back against the arm of the ugly as sin couch, Angel watched the turtle as he took another drink. She sucked on her lip piercing, watching him for the moment. It thankfully did not take long. He paused in his setting the bottle down. Brown eyes watched as his nostrils flared, taking in the pheromones she was intentionally letting him scent.

He shifted his glance to her, placing his drink on the coffee table. “Sup Angel?”

The purple haired teen smiled at him. “Hey. So quick question.”

Raph gave her a look. “Quick answer.”

Angel moved slightly closer, pulling herself off the arm of the couch. Raph tensed slightly as she pressed her legs against his, setting her elbows on her knees. The younger teen grinned, flashing him a smile that made him want to run for some reason. “Are you still going to teach me to ride?”

That threw him for a loop. He gave her a slight frown. “Uh yeah but not this minute?”

What Angel did next shocked him to his core. She moved and straddled his lap. He kept his arms over the back of the couch. Angel situated herself, settling down on his thighs. Raph didn’t move has his friend pressed herself closer. She placed her hands on either side of the wall behind his head, looking him dead in the eye. “Then why don’t you give me a quick tutorial on how to sit astride your baby.”

Raph stared at her. He shifted enough to reach around her to grab his beer. In doing so his chest brushed against hers, causing her to shiver and a new wave of arousal wafted to his nose. Raph kept eye contact the entire time, watching her face for anything to tell him that this was all a prank or something along that vein. Angel’s face didn’t betray her at all, just showing him her attraction to him which was very VERY surprising to him. Raph managed to grab his beer and pulled back enough to take a quick swig of his drink, still maintaining eye contact. Angel shifted in his lap, pushing herself just enough that Raph felt a blush crawl up his neck.

“You want me to teach you how to properly sit on a motorcycle, while you are drunk as a sorority girl her first week of college?” he asked, taking another sip.

Angel tucked her ankles over his, leaning against his chest to rest her chin on the top of his plasteron. Her hands released the wall and came to curl under his jacket, fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt. Raph stiffened, feeling her fingers brush the start of his scar and feeling his back get tight as the fabric was pulled taught against him.Thankfully the girl took notice and released his shirt, moving her nimble fingers down to grip on his belt loops instead.

“I mean, muscle memory is a thing Raph. Come on, just show me where to put my hands.” she said, trying hard to act very nonchalant about it all.

It was cute to Raph but at the same time, the poor teen was having an internal crisis on that his friend was attracted to him of all things. The purple haired girl gave him a look that made him roll his eyes, feeling his blush go up his neck and was praying that his mask hid his darkening skin. 

“Yeah you are so going to remember this bit.”

Angel narrowed her eyes. “Oh I will good sir. I have a good fucking memory, regardless if I am drunk.”

Raph decided to test that theory. Leaning back, the ninja rolled his hips just enough to get situated with 160 lbs on his lap. Only that was a mistake. The roll pushed his hips into Angel’s own, causing them to rub in a very distinct manner. Both of them let out a gasp, shocks going up their core. The male froze, amber eyes widening. Raph was a full blooded male and while 19, was still a teenager. Sure he had wonderful access to the internet (thank you Donnie) and thus had seen numerous pron videos but this….this was a whole new level for him. Angel whined and pushed her hips down to chase his. Letting out a groan, Raph let his head fall back with a small thunk as it hit the back of the couch; hips raising once again. Angel, on the other hand, gasped out a “Oh fuuuccckk” and ground back. Both of them began panting, arousal sparking more and more. Raph’s feet slid off the coffee table and planted themselves onto the floor, giving him more power to thrust up against her.

She whined, pushing herself up and letting her own head fall back. “Oh god Raph!”

At that, he stopped. The sound she let out made him growl back. “We can’t.”

Angel lifted her head enough to glare at him. “Why the fuck not?”

“For one, you are drunk. I am not taking advantage of you.” he growled out, locking his legs in place.

She narrowed her eyes. “My being drunk is not the only thing is it? Because for your information buddy,” here she poked him directly in the chest, “I find you fucking hot.”

That threw him for the biggest loop ever. “Wait, you think that I,” he pointed to himself, “am hot?”

Angel threw her hands up in the air. “Hot like burning sir!”

Raph stared at her and laughed hard enough to nearly shake her to the floor. Angel wobbled before she caught herself. She maintained balance by putting her hands on his shoulders, giving him a look. She reached up and grabbed his bandana tails. Twisting them she used them to pull his face closer to hers. His eyes widened just a smidge but he kept his cool. A bit. 

“When I am sober Raph, I want you to fucking raw me so bad it scares me. Now at this moment, is me being drunk is what is stopping you from letting us have the best orgasms in our life?” she tugged on his bandana tails again, causing the red cloth to become a bit lopsided.

The taller being frowned. “I mean….”

Angel sat back, letting his bandana go. “Does it have to do with you being a turtle? Cause man let me tell you I have no problem with that.”

Raph raised an eye ridge at her. “Seriously?”

She gave a shrug. “Dude I find you guys aesthetically attractive. I mean, you more than the others. Don is a close second.”

Raph narrowed his eyes. “And why do I rank first for you?”

Angel tugged on his jacket. “It’s the fucking clothes!!”

Raph’s jaw dropped. “Are you shitting me? It’s not because I don’t have a shell anymore?”

“I mean, you look sexy with or without your shell. Yeah, I did lose a few more hand holds but that’s beside the point.” Raph stared at her as she made herself more comfortable on his lap. “The point is that I have become desynte-desin- I got used to seeing you guys run around buck ass naked that seeing you guys with clothes made you, like, 110% more attractive.”

Raph’s jaw continued to drop. “You ain’t kidding are you?”

Angel shook her head. “I had this realization in your kitchen a couple of weeks ago. Like, I already knew you guys were hot but you in clothes cranked that up to a whole new level.”

Raph sat there, shocked at this realization his friend had. “I…...huh.”

Angel laughed at him, shifting in his lap. “Trust me I know. I had the same reaction.”

She folded her arms and rested them on his chest; resting her chin on the back of her hands. He looked down at her, arms hanging limp at his sides. Her brown eyes showed a strange clearity that Raph would not expect from a human that was drunk. She smiled, showing off most of her teeth.

“So hey, since you know that there is an attraction here,” she pointed to him then her, “we could just, make out till Casey comes back?”

It made Raph’s blush return with a vengeance. “You wanna what, kiss me?”

Angel’s smile took on a sultry hint to it. “That is, if you want me to. For I really want to kiss you Raph.” She slid closer, her breath ghosting over his lips. “Very fucking much.”

He looked at her, narrowed his eyes and raised his arms to grip the back of the couch. “Just kissing?”

Her nod nearly took them both out. “Just kissing. Maybe some tongue if you are feeling brave.”

He laughed at that, shaking his head. “Jesus you are a nerd.”

“But a sexy one.” she pointed out.

Raph chuckled, letting it rumble his chest. “That’s debatable.”

“Oh shut up and kiss me.” Angel rolled her eyes.

The ninja gave one last chuckle, “Yes ma’am,” and leaned his head down to press his lips against hers. The two of them let out appreciative noises at the feel of each other and attempted to move closer. They bumped against each other, getting more and more familiar with the other with each kiss. Raph let out a faint growl, moving his hands off the couch to grasp at her legs; running them over her outer thighs. Angel whimpered, throwing her arms over his neck to pull him closer. She tentatively brought her tongue out to run over his upper lip. The older teen growled again and nipped at her bottom lip. As the kisses grew more and more heated, hands grew bolder. One of Raph’s hands came up to cup Angel’s rear end and gave it a firm squeeze. Angel moaned and slid her hands down to grasp at his shoulders.

They pulled back to get a quick breath of air before diving in again. Raph loved the taste of her. She tasted faintly of alcohol and her toothpaste, throwing him off a bit. Not enough though to stop kissing her. Angel, on the other hand, was fully enjoying having him hold her in his arms and wanted to show him how much she loved it. The nips were soothed with licks and Angel, feeling bold, sucked on his lower lip. That made the ninja groan, both hands now grasping at her ass to pull her closer. His tongue was something she wasn’t fully used to. It was wider than any other guy she had kissed but god was it much more fun. His sharp teeth bit gently, smooth tongue running over her teeth and playing with her lip ring. Her grip tightened on his jacket and she pulled back from him with a faint pop.

Both of them were gasping for air, chest heaving as if they had run a marathon. Raph attempted to chase her lips once more but both of them froze at the sound of the lock on the door turning. Angel was all but thrown off Raph as his instincts came forth. He quickly hid behind the wall that separated the kitchen from the room, evening out his breathing. Angel, after stopping herself from going ass over tea kettle, made it to where she had been sitting on the couch the entire time. She let out a breath and settled against the arm of the couch, looking at the entryway.

Casey entered the apartment with his arms full with pizza. “Angel! Come help me!!”

The girl let out a sigh and got up on wobbly legs to help her friend. At this point she needed a good distraction.


	6. Chapter 6

Raph stood in the middle of his room, wondering how in the hell did he get to this point. He was currently organizing his closet and dresser with all the new clothes Casey and April had given him. Since his physical therapy was going well and Splinter was helping work through his katas again, he had put on a bit more muscle than when he originally came home from space. While he still wasn’t at his original mass, he was no longer frail looking. The turtle rolled his shoulders, feeling the fake muscles in his back shift with the movement. Amber eyes narrowed at the piles he had already sorted. He had one pile of clothes he never wore, which was mostly consisted of underwear. He already had a plastron, why on earth did he need boxer-briefs?

Another pile was workout clothes/pajamas and onel pile held rather nice clothes. Ones he would no doubt wear at family get togethers such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. The final pile was clothes he now could no longer fit. That was one of the smallest piles and Raph took it as a sign of progress. Grumbling, the ninja went to sort out the clothes. He held up a shirt, squinting at the faint print on it. Shrugging, he decided to make a new pile of work clothes. He was far enough in his p.t, that Donnie had cleared him to work in the garage again, so long as he had someone there with him as a precaution. While it irked Raph, he understood though. His family was worried about him. Granted his seizures were few and far between, it still scared the rest of the Hamato clan that anything could trigger them. Raph had already told Donnie what he felt when they were starting so they had a kit to help, depending on how severe the seizures were.

He shook his head and went back to sorting clothes. It seriously though him for a loop on why he needed so many different clothes. He did like the shirts for his back made anxiety creep up his gut. He couldn’t stand having the glowing bits of his vertebra show. It showed the world that while he was still a mutant, he was freak among them. So, Raph loved wearing shirts. Depending on the fabric and type of detergent. Tide detergent drove him up the wall, it made his skin feel like it was going to itch itself off his back. He guessed it had something to do with the synthetic flesh and chemicals in the detergent but Gain was what made him not lose his shit. 

Breathable fabrics on the other hand, were very strange to the mutant. He could feel his sweat soak the clothes when he worked out in the gym or went into training in the dojo and that freaked him out on a semi normal basis. Especially when the sweat soaked shirt would actually stick to his back. That would always cause a minor panic attack in Raphael due to it making him have partial flashbacks to what he remembered from when Shredder nearly killed him. The only time Raphael really walked around without a shirt was in the shower or when he was in his room. He had taken to bringing spare shirts with him whenever he worked out so he could quickly change shirts before going to go take a shower. Even then he needed to do a whole new outfit change for clothes retained scents very well and for a mutant turtle, the smell of sweat was just nasty after a while.

Ever since coming home to the Lair, their poor washing machine which was used to being used maybe once a week was now being used no less than every three days. For multiple loads. Raph had gotten a mattress since his hammock was labeled as a hazard for his back, so due to that, he now had to have sheets and let him tell you, different types of bed sheets worked wonders. April had gotten him a set of silk sheets from some store on sale and those were his favorite. On the first day of getting them, he had rolled around on his bed for a full hour just soaking in the feeling of smooth silk running over his skin. It was a luxury that the red banded ninja had limited himself to once a week each month, to help keep the sheets from falling into dissare from over washing. 

Flannel sheets were his second favorite due to the fact they retained heat very well and for a cold blooded being that lived underground that was amazing. There were some mornings that Raph had to be coaxed out of bed with more than a bowl of cereal due to the warmth of his bed. It had become a bit of a joke in the family that if Raph wasn’t doing laundry then he was sleeping in his bed. Mikey had joked and claimed Raph was a stay at home wife since he hadn’t been topside for patrol in nearly a year. Raph had told him to shove it or else the youngest turtle was going to find someone else to do his laundry. Donnie and Leo had supported Raph doing chores around the house as long as he didn’t stress himself to much. Splinter had taken Raph under his wing for that. The two bonded over dishes, how to properly make tea and the like. Raph had even gotten bored at one point and fount Tasty by Buzzfeed on YouTube and wrote down some of their recipes to try. April had fallen in love with his stuffed shells much to his amusement.

Casey helped him with his knitting by opening him up an Etsy store. Granted, Raph didn’t make anything to write home about but people loved his scarves for some reason. It provided money so he wasn’t going to complain. It helped clear out some of the clutter that had gathered in his room though. He now had a tall bookshelf that housed his boxes of yarn and mason jars full of knitting needles. That corner had been cleared out and also housed a desk with a laptop that Donnie refurbished. It was where he posted new stuff and packed up his wares. The new lamps over there also made it a nice place to read his books when he was forced to take a break from whatever he had been doing. Opposite of that corner was another shelf that housed all of his books and was now slowly filling with recipe books and knitting pattern books. Under that was a plush chair that Casey had found at a yard sale. Raph spent an entire weekend looking up how to refurbish upholstery from the internet and got the proper things to redo his new reading chair. 

April had found a rug at a thrift store and had spread it on his floor. Donnie and Leo found a decent bed set in the junkyard and Raph thoroughly enjoyed putting it together and fixing it. Seriously, he was getting quite handy in that department. Raph also was given a good portion of the chores in the house and while at first, mildly irritated over it, realized it was also a step in his therapy. He could vacuum the living room without having a seizure was a good day. Doing the dishes without breaking anything counted as a win. Scrubbing the mats in the dojo? If he could do it without having his back spazz out then Raph was happy. While it did give him some more teasing from his brothers, Raph really didn’t give a shit. True, he did miss running across rooftops and fighting off bad guys but for him, he felt like he wasn’t yet ready to go out to face the world. Hell, some nights going to Casey or April’s places gave him mild anxiety. 

Angel, though, was a good friend during these times. Although it was slightly weird between the two of them due to the unresolved sexual tension between them, Raph still appreciated that she put him as a friend first than a potential hook up. Whenever he needed something that Casey nor April could get, she provided. She also provided something else too, a confident. He got her phone number that Night and after a couple of days, he sent her a text hat had begun their strange relationship. He had yet to tell his family that Angel was quite possibly becoming more than just a friend. He did feel guilty that he had yet to discuss their kiss because he was still confused on it. Thankfully, Angel avoided the topic as well. The two of them seemed to agree that the time will come eventually.

Raph grumbled as he held up another shirt, wondering when in the Hell someone snuck him a pink shirt. It was probably Casey. He tossed it to the never wear pile and pulled out a pair of jeans. He scooped at the skinny jeans and shucked them too. He had enough with them and he never really wore them. The red banded ninja sighed, looking at all the piles. He still had to sort the rest of his wardrobe and the three loads that were in the wash. Cursing under his breath, the emerald skinned turtle left his room and made his way to Donnie.

The genius always had a few spare boxes floating around. Getting the extra clothes put in boxes would help lessen the mess that had become his room. Raph went down the stairs and started walking to the lab to see if Donnie could let him have a box or two when the elevator to the garage opened up. He paused to see his brothers coming in. Their talk stopped at the sight of him.

Rap crosses arms in front of his chest. “Where the Hell have you guys been?”

The three other turtles looked guilty and sheepish. Mikey rubbed the back of his foot against his ankle, “Just went on a run Raph. No big deal.”

Raph raised an eye ridge. Don folded like a cheap suit.

“Casey called. Apparently the Purple Dragons have attempted to get into the human trafficking business and we just did a recon run.”

Raph growled. “And not one of you decided to let me know that you guys went out? Did Splinter know?”

Leo stood tall, “He did.”

“Then why didn't you tell me?!” Raph sneered, tightening his grip on his arms.

Leo frowned at him. “I felt like you didn't have you know Raph.”

“Oh that's fucking wonderful. Thanks for the heads up that you all went out without me. You know it would have been nice in case one of you dunderheads got hurt or worse!” the hot head retorted.

“We didn’t want to give you stress Raph. As the weakest link-” Leo began only to get cut off by his brother.

“I don’t care what you think Leo! I might be weak not but I am still your brother!”

Leo shifted on his feet, looking torn. Mikey watched as his eldest brother’s eyes hardened and his posture changed. The blue banded turtle pursed his lips and retorted. “Better ask forgiveness than permission Raph and last I checked we didn’t report to you.”

Silence fell on the Lair, a familiar type of tension floating in the air only it had a new depth to it. Raphael took in a breath through his nose only to exhale, all of the tension flowing out of him. Mikey blinked as he watched his brother practically deflate in front of them. “You guys are my brothers first, teammates second. I know I am the weak link right now. Hell, I admit that. But that doesn’t mean you guys can’t just run off to a mission like that without giving me a heads up.”

Donnie’s eyes widened at the response his usually violent brother gave. What Leo had said was usually Raph’s motto but the hot head was also correct. Since Raph had been basically put on house arrest, the other turtles would still keep him in the loop about what they were doing on their patrols. Everything from catching petty thieves to getting into scraps with the Foot. This was a new development.

Leo squared his own jaw. “Last I checked I was Leader Raphael. If I saw you don’t need to know then you don’t need to know. That’s final.”

Raph tensed and he felt his back twitch. He let out the tension, hoping that his muscles were twitching due to his anger and not a seizure. “Why then?”

Donnie and Mikey cast a glance at each other before looking to their fearless leader. They had attempted to ask the same questions but were shot down. Mikey had voiced concerns to Donnie earlier that Leo was slowly taking Raph’s place as the hot head. He made rash decisions and was quite angry 95% of the time. It was getting very worrisome for the orange and purple banded ninjas since they had no idea what to do.

Leo, standing directly in front of his immediate younger brother, let out a sigh. “Because you would have demanded to join for a recon mission Raphael. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

Raph snorted. “Bullshit. As much I want to go bust some heads,” here his grip tightened on his arms once again, “I know I ain’t ready to go toside like that. Not yet.”

Mikey felt his jaw drop. Raph admitting this was like a miracle. Hell this whole conversation felt like something out of a pipe dream. Donnie cleared his throat. “Well, if it helps Raph, we didn’t find much tonight. Looks like this is going to be a long job for us.”

It seemed to sate the hothead. For now at least. He pointed a finger to each of his brothers. “Keep me in the loop from now own. Now, Don, you have any empy boxes I can use?”

Donnie nodded and lead the way to the lab, the red banded turtle trailing behind him. Mikey, on the other hand, watched his eldest brother go to the kitchen. Well, Leo all but stomped his way there. Seemed like this was leading up to a new Leo tantrum. The aqua colored turtle sighed and went to follow him. Lord knows what Donnie would do if Leo broke another toaster….

~~~~

Angel watched Raph from his bed. He was going through his wardrobe again and needed a second opinion about some things. Granted it had only been a couple of weeks since he did his first purge but he had been gaining muscle quickly in the gym and his training. Angel rolled over so she was laying on her stomach as she watched him pull out an unopened ackage of underwear from his dresser. She couldn’t help but laugh at him, the groan he let out at them was pretty damn funny. As he grumbled, he threw them in the direction of the never wear box he had taken to storing in his room. The purple haired girl snickered, “Why do they keep buying you underwear if you never wear it?”

Raph shrugged, going through another laundry basket. “I have no freaking clue. Maybe it is because you humans wear so much clothing?”

Angel rolled her own eyes. “Have you talked to them about it?”

“Yes! But they keep insisting on it.” he replied, pulling out a shirt from the basket. 

She hummed, wondering why they kept at it. Maybe it was because April knew that Raph was running around without any underwear and she felt gross about it? Angel shook her head. She had no idea and guessing wasn’t going to help anyone. Instead she focused on why exactly he had called her to help him sort through his clothes. She had guessed she was here mostly to help him cool off from an argument that he had with Leo. Angel got the basics from Mikey when she arrived. Poor turtle was in a baking spree due to stress. While Raph could coke, baking he sucked at so Mikey had taken the helm on that. Both of them bonded a bit more over cooking though and gladly shared tips with each other.

Angel moved to sit up on the bed. “So, aside from having a laundry crisi that you clearly have under control, why did you ask me to come over?”

Raph stilled, the pair of sweatpants he had grabbed went limp. “What makes you think that?”

The girl snorted. “Please, at this point I have become your best friend. Not Jones. Otherwise he would be here instead of me.”

With a groan, he moved to sit next to her on the bed. He hung his head and rested his arms on his knees. “They went on a mission.”

Well that wasn’t surprising but how Raph was reacting was. Angel moved closer to him. 

“Okay but that is different how?”

“They didn’t tell me.” was his answer.

Okay that was bad. The brothers were always paranoid on locations. Even if Raph went out to go bust heads with Casey or just run around, he always let someone know where he was. If Donnie went on a junkyard run by himself he would call them when he got there and when he left. Hell even Mikey would let people know where he was if he went on a comic book run or a pizza run. Never did they go anywhere without telling one another. It wasn’t right. So them going on a mission without even telling Raph they were leaving the Lair was just not called for. At all.

She placed a hand gently on his shoulder, watching him tense for a second before relaxing. He still had problems with people touching him around that area. Any attempts to touch his back directly were met with either evasion or violent movements. This she counted as progress. Not a lot but still progress. Angel took in a breath, “Well, what happened? Did anyone get hurt?”

Raph shook his head. “No, thankfully. It’s more of the principle of the matter. They didn’t even tell me that the left the Lair. I had found out when they got home and I guarantee they told Splinter that they would tell me.”

Now that was up for debate but it made sense. It would be the only way for them to go on the mission. Angel bit her lip. “Well, I am not picking sides, but you don’t know that.”

That got him to get out of the angst episode he was leading himself in. Now it was a bit of a rage scene. This Angel could work with.

“And how are you so sure?!” he snarled out.

Here she raised an eyebrow at him. “Cause wouldn’t Splinter have come to ask you if he wanted to know if your brothers actually left?”

That took the wind out of his sails so to speak. He huffed. “Well, I mean.”

“Look, I get why you are mad. Hell it is justifiable but there is something else that is eating at you. What is it?” she asked, beginning to lightly rub his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

He brought a hand up to grasp at her hand, giving it a light squeeze. “It’s just...why didn’t they tell me? I get that I haven’t been in the field in over a year and that I am rusty at my skills. I have been working with Splinter on getting back on track. My skills are improving but I know I am not ready for field work. Not yet. But they could have told me anyways. That way I know they can handle it. Not get a random phone call at the wrong time.”

Okay now that she got. “I mean, that’s fair. It’s not like you are going out to being on your own.”

Raph paused. Lifting his head to look at her. “What did you say?”

“Uh, that you are not going out on your own?”

He continued to stare at her before letting out a laugh. Angel narrowed her eyes at him. “What-”

She was cut off by Raph pressing his lips to hers. Her brown eyes widened for half a second but before she could kiss him back, he pulled away. “Babe,” he started, “You’re a genius.”

Angel frowned in confusion. “What did I say?”

Raph chuckled and moved to push her back to hover over her. “Nothing terrible. Now, I have a better idea on how to spend our time.”

She squeaked before laughing as she was pushed back. Her laughter was cut off by Raph kissing her again. They didn’t get any more laundry sorted for another hour.


	7. Chapter 7

Raph rummaged through left over metal scraps in the garage. He had on his work clothes and was doing two things at once so to speak. He had told his family he was going to be working on his bike and while he was giving Cherry a tune up, he was also looking for something else. After what Angel had said the other night, Raph decided he was going to go out on his own. As a true vigilante. Which meant that he needed an outfit to help him with that. The main reason he needed an outfit was so he could not only protect his back (quite literally) but also so he wouldn’t get caught by his brothers. He really didn’t want them to give him shit about it since he was still angry at them for that night. Right now though, he was seeing if he could find anything to make him either a helmet or armour. He had the base of the outfit planned out in his room and since he was in charge of laundry now, well, he could get away with a lot at the moment.

He grinned as he rummaged through the metal parts. The ninja was looking in building some flexible armour that could still allow him to move around but not lessen protection. He had taken to watching YouTube videos about history and watching documentaries while knitting. His brothers were concerned on his recent interest in history but Splinter told them to leave it be. Raph was still stuck to the Lair and well, one could only clean it for so long before there is nothing else to clean. As it was, Splinter was fully encouraging his new obsession. Hell Raph wasn’t just watching them to build his armour but was using some of the techniques and tricks he saw into his training. He had been cleared by both Don and Splinter to begin sparring with his brothers again and was fully using what he had learned to fight against his now stronger brothers. 

While the hot head had lost his position as the strongest of them (for now at least), he now gained a new title: the fastest. Since he no longer had a carapace that made up 30% of his body mass, he could move a lot quicker than his brothers. It also made it easier to move around his brothers since he could work around not having his shell. His brothers had limited range on certain katas. Raph, on the other hand, could move more freely than them. Down side for him was if he moved too much or did it wrong, his spine and back would let him know very quickly in terms of a mini seizure. Those were the moments Raph hated the most. It felt like he hadn’t been trying at all in his therapy even though that wasn’t true. Still made him feel like he was worthless but thankfully, between his sensei and Angel, those moments did not last long if at all.

Now though, the red banded turtle pulled out an old front cowl that was too damaged to use for Cherry but not too much to not be used for some sort of armour. He pulled it out and rested it against his arm. It didn’t fit too well against his forearm but on his shoulder? With some tempering it would work great as a pauldin. Tucking it away for now, he pulled out a spare gear to go work on his baby. After all, she will be needing to be in top shape too.

~~~~

Mikey bit his lip as he sat next to Don at training. The youngest of them was nervous for a good reason. His brother sat next to him, grip tight on his staff that rested across his lap. On Don’s other side was Splinter, back straight (or as straight as it could be given his old age) as his eyes were focused on his two elder sons. Leo and Raph stood across from each other, one tense as a taught string while the other stood tall and proud. Leo gritted his teeth, tense as he watched his brother tighten the wraps around his hands. The hot head finished tightening it, not once missing his brother’s gaze.

They all could feel a tension in the air. One that had a familiar weight to it but had a different tone to it. They moved on some unconscious signal. Raph moving towards his older brother with his right arm pulled back, to do his infamous super punch. Mikey knew from first hand experience that his punch always packed a punch. But sadly that was from Before. The orange banded turtle winced as Leo met the fist with one of his own. Once upon a time that was a sure fire way to get every knuckle in your hand broken by the hot head. Now, not so much. The blue banded leader showed only one sign of discomfort by a slight twitch of his arm muscles. Raph, on the other hand, quickly moving to do a sweep kick. Leo jumped back and tried to kick back at his brother’s feet. The tallest turtle quickly rolled out of the way, eyeing up the leader. What happened next surprised everyone there. 

Leo ran up to throw another punch at his brother, only for Raph to duck underneath the arm and to turn so said arm rested on his shoulder. Quickly, the emerald skinned male reached up to wrap his arms over the limb and pulled down. Raph threw him over his shoulder, Leo’s carapace hitting the mats with a solid THUMP noise. But before Leo could even begin to realize what exactly had happened, the other turtle moved to Leo’s legs and grabbed them to make Leo’s left foot sit in his armpit and his right leg mixed with Ra[h’s own so that Leo could not escape. The blue banded turtle growled, going to try to kick at the other. Amber eyes narrowed and Raph moved to grip Leo’s achilles tendon. Leo let out a gasp as the sudden pressure on the muscle increased to pain. 

Mikey’s jaw dropped at the submission move that Raph had effectively gotten Leo trapped in. Mikey cast his blue eyes to Don, who was simply starting with wide brown eyes. Splinter stood up and made his way to the two other boys, cane in tow. Raph seemed to not notice him as he spoke to the blue banded leader.

“Do you submit?”

Leo gritted out, “No.”

Raph pressed down harder, causing Leo to arch his back as pain flew up his leg. Leaf green skin turned a shader brighter as Leo’s fist tightened. He clamped down on his jaw, trying not to cry out in pain.

Splinter stopped right next to them and said, “Enough.”

Raph released his brother and moved fluidly to stand by his sensei. Leo let out a gasp of air at the fact that he was no longer in pain. The other two brothers watched on as the two oldest ones move to stand across from each other. Splinter eyed them and spoke clearly, “Raphael is the winner of this match.”

The glare that Leo sent Raph was deep enough that Mikey had to withhold a wince. If looks could kill then Raph probably would be a smear across the room. Raph, on the other hand, gave a firm nod before moving back to standing position by Mikey. Leo all but sulked his way to stand next to Don. Splinter narrowed his eyes slightly. “We shall continue tomorrow my sons. Leonardo, a word.”

The four brothers blinked and glanced at each other for a moment. Usually Splinter held them back for words about their form or whatever but it was either, Mikey, Raph or Don. Leo hadn’t been called to stay behind in YEARS. So this, this was a very serious moment. The three dismissed brothers slowly left the dojo, casting looks at each other. Out of the room, they all stopped in the living room and stood there for a good moment.

Mikey spoke. “Anyone want food?”

“Hell yes.”

“Please.”

The three absconded to the kitchen as if hellhounds were on their heels.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this is a short chapter. I am just glad I managed to pump this out. Again, sorry on how short it is

Mikey frowned as he realized someone was missing from the room. “Hey, where’s Raph?”

Don looked up from his crossword to frown. Leo turned his head from the t.v. to his youngest brother. Splinter though, spoke from his arm chair.

“Raphael has gone out for the evening Michelangelo.”

That got the three others to look to their sensei with different looks of shock and confusion. Don decided to ask the question that was on all of the brothers’ mind. “Well, where did he go?”

The smile that came from the old rat was enough to make them all begin to panic. “He is out at Mr. Jones and is having a night with Miss Angel.”

The smile immediately turned into a glare. “None of you are to disturb him. Am I clear?”

They all nodded. The urge to go find out was cowed by their fear of their father. They really couldn’t help but wonder, what was going on between the two.

~~~

Raph grunted as his back hit the couch, Angel going down with him since their lips were still fused together. Angel climbed on top of him, grabbing his shirt to make sure she didn’t lose him. Raph grasped her thighs, draggin the girl closer to him. They broke apart to take in some air and in that moment the ninja all but lunged forward to take a bite of her neck. The groan Angel let out was enough to make the red banded turtle growl from around her flesh. Her hands released his shirt to grab onto his mask tails, twisting them around her fists so she had something to tug on. Pants fell from the purple haired girl’s lips as her partner marked up her throat. 

“We-oh gods- have to hurry up babe. Casey will be back soon.” she managed to let out before another moan came out.

Raph pulled back, licking his lips. “One of these goddamn days sweetheart you will be begging me to not hurry up.”

Angel let out a giggle, rolling off of him to try to regain her breath on the couch. Raph slumped onto the other side, chest heaving as he too, tried to regain his breath. He looked over at her, eyeing how her own chest was going up and down. The girl couldn’t help but giggle at the look she was getting. But before Raph could open his mouth to ask if they could continue, the front doors lock rattled. The two of them gave each other a look, and made sure they were okay as Casey Jones all but fell into his apartment. He called out, “I got food! Come and get it!”

The two others got up to help, casting one final look at each other.

~~~

When it got time to leave, Angel smiled at them. “Well, tonight has been fun but I got plans with Sophie tomorrow so I gotta dip.”

Casey grumbled from where he was laying on the couch, two steps away from being blackout drunk. Raph nudged him with his foot and the big man didn’t even twitch. The two others rolled their eyes. The turtle turned to the girl that he had a strange relationship with. “Did you want me to walk you home?”

That got her eyebrows to raise up. “But I thought you weren’t supposed to get seen by the public at large?”

At this Raph easily pulled his hood of his jacket up, and shoved his hands in the pockets. Angel had to admit, unless you were standing directly in front of the turtle you wouldn’t notice that he wasn’t human. Letting out a sigh, she nodded. “Sure. Might as well or I think Casey or Splinter will have your ass.”

The two of them made sure Casey was squared away, picked up a little bit so the man wouldn’t wake up to a mess and locked the door on their way out. They made their way out of the building, Raph quickly shooting a text to Splinter that he was making sure Angel got home safe and was following her on the rooftops. Angel let out a giggle when Raph showed her the text. As they walked, they couldn’t help but drift closer and after about two blocks, Angel wrapped her arm around his. He blinked down at her and let out a chuckle. They continued on to her building, just taking in each other’s presence…


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I kinda got sucked into one of my other fics and this kind of got put on the back burner. Don't worry, I'm still working on it!

Raph grunted as he pushed the broken down motorcycle into the abandoned warehouse that he managed to find. Granted it was near the docks but it worked for him. Raph finished pushing it into the main area that he was slowly turning into his work place. Or, at least his soon to be vigilante work. He managed to sneak out tonight under the guise that he was looking for parts for his bike and Splinter let him go. His brothers didn’t think much of it either since they were more focused on their new mission dealing with the Dragons.

Raph scowled down at the bike he pulled into position. Leo and him had been having more fights that before. It mostly tied into the fact that Leo didn’t want Raph to do much. Aside from be the apparent housewife. Hell even when the red banded ninja went out to just chill at Casey’s Leo would pitch a huge ass fit over it. Why Raph didn’t know but it was getting on the rest of the family’s nerves. Even Splinter was getting close to just telling off the fearless leader. Raph let out a sigh and returned his focus to the broken piece of transportation in front of him. He rolled his neck, popping it before going over to the tool box he dragged in as well from the junkyard. He pulled out a socket wrench kit and pushed the sleeves of his work shirt up, ready to get his new ride ready….

~~~

Raph sat up straight from his sitting position from next to the coming together bike. It had been a few weeks since he managed to find it and was slowly putting together his vigilante persona. It had taken some time to get both the place and a mode of transportation for his new self. On top of that he had to create two different fighting styles. One he used around his family and the other was for when he was out and about as whoever the media will coin him as. He had no doubt he would get some media. Hell he and his brothers were featured on the news every now and then. Thankfully only as very shitty pics and first hand experiences. It was hilarious to most of the family because apparently not was only crime going down but tourists were now showing up more to try to get actual photos of them as proof. Who knew heroism was great for tourism??

He popped his neck as he made his way to the mini fridge he had hooked up next to the table he put together. It was a mix of his work bench and plans. Just because his brothers went out on their scouting missions didn’t mean Raph wasn’t busy doing his own share. While he wasn’t as smart as Donnie when it came to certain things, he did notice patterns. The amber eyed male pulled out a soda and popped the tab, taking a swig of it as his eyes roamed over the map of NYC and the little pins stuck to it. They were color coded to help him set up different rings. Blue pins were just robberies, green for armed assaults, orange for murders, red for sexual crimes and finally purple for gang activities. Wrapped around each pin was a different colored sticker flag that told him which crime was connected to which gang. White stickers were for perps in jail, blue for the Russians, Red for the Japanese, yellow for the Latinos, green for the Irish, black for the Italians, and Purple of course was the Purple Dragons. The on each stickers had a number written on it for each sub gang/family in each division. Granted it wasn’t pretty but Raph had a system.

Behind the table was a clear dry erase board he managed to snag out of the dumpster from NYU and he had been going to the dumpster for the Criminology Department to get a good chunk of his crime fighting supplies. At least, in that part. He has gotten a lot of different textbooks over different things. He finally understands Donnie when it comes to reading about interesting things. So far he has on his dry erase board a picture of Hun in the center and different crimes connecting him to them. Raph narrowed his eyes at the board. He was tired of fighting Hun. They were getting old damnit. It had only been a couple of years since Raph and his brothers broke out onto the crime fighting scene but enough was enough. Raph was going to get Hun put behind bars forever. But sadly that required something he and his brothers avoided: the Police.

Setting the can down on a corner of the table, Raph looked over the map and all of the crime lists. His phone went off and he let out a sigh. It was time to get back to his family without them flipping shit.

~~~

Donnie frowned as he watched Raph kick at the bag. He was working on his kicks per Splinter’s orders while the others were sparring. Raph leaned back from kicking, himself frowning as he looked at the bag. His brother repositioned himself and went back to do his normal side kick and it was then Donnie noticed that he was kicking more from his hip than his knee. Granted they all usually did that but now that Raph didn’t have his shell he could rotate them more from said hips than lower towards his knee. It was enough to make Donnie’s frown turn into more of a scowl as he watched his brother try again and aim higher on the bag.

He was pulled from this observation by Splinter calling for his sons. They all moved to their sensei, waiting in their usual positions for further instruction. The old rat eyed them all.

“You all have grown since you were allowed to go to the surface. I wish to see what going above has taught you in terms of fighting. Donatello, you and Leonardo are first.”

They all nodded, Mikey and Raph moving back to stand next to Splinter while Donnie and Leo moved to stand across from each other. Leo pulled out his swords, eyeing his brother with a look of pure determination. Don adjusted his grip on his bo staff, leaning into it slightly. Not a sound came from any of the brothers, all eyes were focus on the sight in front of them. It did not take long for SPlinter to give them their cue to start. Surprisingly Leo moved first, launching himself clear across the dojo to get close to Don. The purple banded turtle managed to bring up his staff to block his brother and with some quick hand movements managed to push the leader back.

They traded a few more blows, Donnie using what he remembered and what he learned fighting Foot soldiers above to get a few solid hits on Leo. At the same time, Leo managed a couple but had to stay back because of the reach Don’s staff had. Don narrowed his eyes at how his brother dodged one move and with a sublte fick of his fingers, a blade popped out from the end of his staff. Leo barely just managed to fall back to not get stabbed by the hidden blade. Don smirked at the quick flash of “oh shit” on Leo’s face. Don didn’t even blink at the sound of Splinter’s noise of approval and Mikey’s “DUDE!”

Raph watched on, eyes locked onto the way Don was now using his staff. The purple banded ninja twirled it, turning his body to build more momentum before going to thrust the weapon to the other. Leo was clearly unready for this and once again to barely dodge and miss the hits Don was sending him. They kept going around and then Don feinted a hit, making it seem like he was going for a sweep when he twisted on his heel. Leo slipped on his foot, trying to halt his forward movement. His grey eyes widened as the blade went over his face, a faint song coming from it. His shell hit the floor with a solid noise and Don quickly moved to place his foot on his eldest brother’s plastron, twirling his staff so the blade stopped at Leo’s throat.

The glare Leo have him would have scared Don when they were children. But now? After everything they have been through, Leo didn’t scare the genius anymore. Splinter stood, “Enough. Donatello, it seems that you have come far since going above.”

He turned to his eldest. “Leonardo. You are going far as well. You wouldn’t have been able to dodge Donatello’s newest addition to his staff last year.”

The two bowed to their sensei, and Don had to beat down a reaction to the glare Leo sent him from the corner of his eye. They moved to allow Raph and Mikey take their positions, the two other brothers eyed each other. Mikey pulled out his nunchucks and looked at his brother warily. The two had yet to spar since Raph was approved for it so this was something that was going to be strange for them both. Raph popped his neck and slid his sai from his waist. With a twirl, he held them in his hands so the points were pressed up against his forearms. That was a new thing. The orange banded turtle narrowed his eyes at that. They stood there and waited. Splinter eyed his sons before going “Begin!”

 

Mikey didn’t waste any time, knowing that Raph was using more throwing and flips in his fighting style. The shell less turtle ducked under a kick that was followed up by a punch. The taller male grunted before falling back. Mikey’s blue eyes went wide as Raph’s form seemed to make its way to the mat. Mikey dropped his nunchucks, reaching out to catch his brother. Raph smirked and snapped his hands out to meet Mikey’s. He gripped hard, using his brother as leverage to fling himself under the aqua turtle’s legs. The smaller male yelped as he was basically thrown across the dojo when Raph stood up. Mikey crashed into the far wall, groaning as he looked up from his position on the ground.

“No fair Raphie.”

The red banded ninja smirked, showing off some of his teeth. “Ninja. We don’t play fair.”

Donnie sent a side look to Leo and had to refrain from commenting that they were indeed ninja, not those honorable warriors Leo had a kink for. Mikey got up and they resumed their training…

~~~

Donnie hummed as he worked on the toaster once again in the kitchen. Seriously, Leo needed to stop touching it for the poor thing couldn’t take much more. He had just put down his screwdriver when he heard a giggle come from the living room. The genius frowned, putting the half rebuilt toaster down and got up from the table. Mikey was on a food run with April, Casey was at work, Splinter was off to go visit Leatherhead with Leo. That meant…

Donnie peeked around the door frame to see Raph on the couch with Angel. That’s right. Angel came over earlier to hang out and do homework. Donnie smiled at the sight of his brother seemingly relax with their friend only to feel his joy morph into something else. Angel had moved and pressed a kiss to Raph’s lips. Instead of reeling back like Donnie expected him to, Raph simply rolled his eyes and kissed her back. The larger male moved closer, throwing one arm over the back of their ratty couch. Angel pressed back, slipping her arms over his shoulders. It did not take long for the two of them to fall back, a new squeal of laughter coming from them both.

The purple banded ninja pulled back around the door frame, staring into the kitchen and trying to get a good grasp of what he had just seen…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta da?


End file.
